Wren invests £20m in worktop centre

The centre will employ up to 300 people Wren Kitchens has invested £20m in Europe’s largest quartz worktop processing centre.

The 150,000sqft unit in Scunthorpe will create up to 300 jobs and cater for what the chain says is an ‘unprecedented demand for affordable quartz stone worktops’.

It will complement Wren’s current quartz manufacturing facility in Barton-uponHumber and will be at full capacity in December.

‘We’ve reinvested back into our business to create this new state-of-the-art facility, which is required to cope with our increased demand of fabricating high-quality quartz worktops for our customers across the UK. It will create a significant number of manufacturing and support roles for the region such as machine operators, team leaders, compliance officers and managers,’ says Kes Serelis, Wren Kitchens UK manufacturing operations director.

‘It will be the largest quartz fabrication site in Europe, and we will be utilising the most sophisticated machinery in the industry such as robotic CNC saws.’

Wren currently has three manufacturing sites across north Lincolnshire and Yorkshire; this will be its second site in Scunthorpe. It has developed a specialist quartz storage facility at its headquarters in Barton-upon-Humber as well as five new quartz delivery depots in Gateshead, Watford, Thurrock, Basingstoke and Exeter. It has its own bespoke double-decker lorries with A-frames to secure the stone during transit.

Works are progressing rapidly on Wren’s new £120million kitchen manufacturing and assembly facility at its HQ, which will create a further 900 jobs. The 1million sqft site will open by summer 2022.

Harrison Spinks: California bound

Bed maker Harrison Spinks has begun selling mattresses in the US market.

Californian retailer H Alora Luxury Beds has become its first US stockist, selling a collection of eight models designed for overseas markets and named after London locations.

‘We are overjoyed that North America can finally access our unique luxury and sustainable products, and are extremely proud of our new collection, especially created to sell overseas. The range offers extreme comfort in classic British designs that are unique to us and feature iconic British names originating from our capital city, like Euston, Piccadilly and Mayfair,’ says Nick Booth, Harrison Spinks md.

The collection will be the store’s fourth bed brand, after Vispring, Peacock Alley and McRoskey.

US deal

Sanderson Design Group has secured its first major US licensing deal. The group’s Morris & Co brand will be used across a broad range of tableware, cookware and kitchen accessories by Williams Sonoma.

SDG said it would work with Williams Sonoma on developing the kitchenware range, which is expected to be launched in autumn next year.

This collaboration is the first to be introduced by SDG’s recently appointed partner in the US, Collab Society, as the group looks to expand its licensing strategy.

‘We’re very excited to sign this Morris & Co licensing agreement with Williams Sonoma, market leader in quality kitchenware in the US. We look forward to working with Williams Sonoma to ensure the range’s success,’ says Lisa Montague, SDG ceo.

Consumers are still spending on their homes: Barclaycard

Credit and debit card spending on furniture boomed in July as consumers continued to invest in their homes. Sales at furniture

stores were 32.3% up on July 2019, according to Barclaycard.

This was significantly higher than the 7.7% increase in transactions, indicating that shoppers have been trading up.

Home improvement and DIY stores enjoyed a 24.4% increase in sales and 15.4% rise in transactions while the household goods sector as a whole rose 23.1% and 8.7% respectively.

However, according to Barclaycard a quarter of consumers have been spending money from their savings.